Half of Canadian BSE Cattle Born After
1997 Feed Ban; Stronger Measures NeededR-CALF United Stockgrowers of America

Billings, Mont. – Canada announced on Sunday yet another
case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), this time in British
Columbia, in a dairy cow born in mid-2000. This is a significant development
because it confirms that BSE in Canada is not confined only to Alberta, and
BSE in Canadian cattle obviously is not restricted to animals born before
Canada’s 1997 feed ban was implemented to prevent the spread of this
disease.

This latest BSE-positive cow – as well as the case Canada
announced on Jan. 23 – was born three years after Canada implemented its
feed ban, which suggests BSE has been circulating within the Canadian feed
system during the past six years. The BSE-positive cow Canada confirmed on
Jan. 11, 2005, was born seven months after Canada implemented its feed ban.

This new case actually is Canada’s sixth confirmed case
of BSE in native-born cattle, not its fifth, as reported by USDA, which
continues to overlook the December 2003 case found in Washington state in a
cow imported from Alberta. (Canada also detected BSE in a cow imported from
Great Britain in 1993.) More worrisome is that this latest incident is
Canada’s fourth detected case in a little more than a year, and that Canada
continues to test significantly fewer cattle compared to other BSE-affected
countries.

“This means half of all Canadian BSE cases confirmed so
far were in animals born after Canada implemented its 1997 feed ban, a
precaution USDA incorrectly assumed would halt the spread of the disease
within Canada’s feed system and its cattle herd,” said R-CALF USA President
and Region V Director Chuck Kiker.

Underpinning USDA’s Final Rule that allows Canadian beef
and cattle into the U.S. is the agency’s key assumption – a false assumption
– that Canada’s feed ban is effective against BSE.

USDA has stated the agency anticipated there might be a
few more cattle that were exposed to BSE-contaminated feed before Canada
initiated its feed ban. However, in its risk analysis supporting the Final
Rule, the agency warned that: “Another indication of an effective feed ban
can be derived from epidemiologic investigations of diagnosed cases. Cases
of BSE found in animals born after the feed ban was implemented would
suggest either that the feed ban was ineffective or that there were
noncompliance issues.”

“That’s precisely the situation now,” Kiker said.

Similarly, USDA stated in the Federal Register: “because
the two BSE-infected animals (at the time) were born before the feed ban,
there is no evidence to suggest that the feed ban is ineffective.”

“We now have the smoking gun: three confirmed BSE cases
that show Canada’s feed ban has not prevented the spread of BSE,” noted
Kiker. “USDA’s previous optimistic assumptions are no longer valid.

“By USDA’s own account, Canada is now detecting the third
generation of BSE infectivity within its cattle herd – an increasingly
obvious risk to the U.S. cattle herd,” Kiker explained. “If USDA does not
take more decisive action, there is a possible irreversible risk of
introducing a spreading pattern of BSE in our own country because the U.S.
has not yet implemented the U.S. feed ban improvements recommended back in
2004 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address the increased risk
of BSE exposure from foreign sources.”

Another important fact to consider is that this latest
case was discovered in British Columbia, not Alberta, as were the previous
cases, indicating Canada’s BSE problem is not confined to one small
geographic area.

“Either BSE was already more widespread in Canada than
previously thought, and Canada’s testing program was simply too low to
detect it, or Canada’s BSE problem is growing,” Kiker continued. “In either
case, the facts now available show more strongly than ever that it has
become vital that USDA stop opening the way for Canada’s BSE problem to
spread into the United States.

“Because the facts demonstrate Canada indeed has a
significant BSE problem, R-CALF USA is reinstating its call for the closure
of the Canadian border until the full scope of the problem can be
scientifically quantified, and until Canada has successfully controlled its
disease outbreak, which must be confirmed over many months of increased
surveillance with no new cases of BSE,” Kiker asserted.

R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said that in 2005 demand for
U.S. beef fell approximately 3.6 percent, with most of the decline occurring
after the Canadian border was reopened to live Canadian cattle and
additional beef products.

“The U.S. cannot continue to assume Canada’s BSE problem
by co-mingling Canadian beef with U.S. beef in the domestic market with
absolutely no differentiation between the two,” he said. “It’s not fair to
consumers, and it’s not fair to independent U.S. cattle producers. It’s also
irrational for the U.S. to have lower import standards for Canadian beef and
cattle than what our export customers demand for our products.”

This latest Canadian case shows that the BSE prevalence
rate per million head of Canadian cattle is higher than USDA claims. Over
one year ago, nationally recognized risk analysis expert Louis Anthony Cox,
Jr., Ph.D., estimated that Canada’s BSE prevalence rate – based on the fewer
numbers of BSE cases detected at that time – was likely much higher than two
per million head of cattle, and that Canada’s prevalence rate likely was as
high as that found in some European countries. Cox reported that even using
“2 per million for purposes of a baseline calculation, it is statistically
almost certain (greater than 99 percent probability) that, at this rate, at
least three BSE-positive cattle will be imported into the United States
among the first few million cattle imported – presumably within the next few
years.”

“We can no longer reasonably hope that Canadian BSE is a
dwindling problem of the past,” Bullard insisted. “Currently, Canada is
testing fewer cattle than any other countries affected by BSE, including the
United States, and is testing at a rate far below that recommended by the
World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).”

Canada has tested only 103,152 cattle since 2003 and is
detecting BSE at a rate of more than one positive case for every 20,000 head
of cattle tested.

In contrast, the U.S. has tested 712,087 cattle since
2003 – about 7 times as many cattle as Canada – but has detected only two
native cases (one case for every 356,044 head tested), both in cattle much
older than those BSE cases being discovered in Canada, and in cattle born
long before the U.S. feed ban was implemented. In other words, the U.S. is
testing 7 times as many cattle and finding less than 5 percent as high a
rate of BSE. These data provide a high level of confidence that the 1997
U.S. feed ban has prevented the spread of BSE within the U.S. feed system.

R-CALF USA calls on USDA to place a moratorium on the
importation of Canadian cattle and beef at least until Canada adopts the
minimal risk mitigation measures practiced in other BSE-affected countries
that have identified BSE cases in cattle born after the implementation of a
feed ban. Such measures include:

Significantly increase testing of Canadian cattle to
mirror the testing programs of other similarly affected countries.

Close the loopholes in Canada’s feed ban,
acknowledged by the Canadian government since 2003.

Remove all specified risk materials (SRMs) from all
cattle over 12 months of age, currently recommended by OIE for countries
with an undetermined risk for BSE.

In addition, USDA should immediately require all beef and
beef products imported from Canada to be clearly marked with a label
indicating Canadian origin. After the above measures have effectively been
implemented – and this has been confirmed by real-world data – USDA should
continue labeling requirements that denote the origin of all beef products.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund,
United Stockgrowers of America) represents thousands of U.S. cattle
producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. R-CALF
USA, a national, non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the
continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF
USA’s membership consists primarily of cow/calf operators, cattle
backgrounders, and feedlot owners. Its members – over 18,000 strong – are
located in 47 states, and the organization has over 60 local and state
association affiliates, from both cattle and farm organizations. Various
main street businesses are associate members of R-CALF USA. For more
information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516